


Star Gazing

by writingramblr



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Angst, Arranged Marriage, Astronomy, Dreams, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Forbidden Love, M/M, Mortality, Ocean Sex, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-18
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-21 09:41:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6046881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingramblr/pseuds/writingramblr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Princess Reyna is betrothed to a handsome Prince from across the seas, but she finds herself withdrawn and unable to feel what she knows she should for  him.</p><p> </p><p>Her heart already belongs to a dark figure from her dreams.</p><p>Little does she know he is very real, and has strong feelings for her as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is me doing the whole God/Mortal romance, but without the Hades and Persephone myth, instead i'm pulling inspiration from 2 gods, one of dreams and the other of darkness.
> 
> this is also yet again more Reylo after i thought i was done.
> 
>  
> 
> ah well.
> 
> love me. <3

She was a princess, someday she’d be a queen. She was beautiful, soft, sweet and rough at every edge all at once.

Her hair was dark brown, with blond pieces here and there, bits that had been kissed by the sun when she went down to the water during the daytime, whether to swim, or bathe, or just be.

But now, night had fallen, the sky was a rich navy blue, and stars were beginning to emerge.

She loved watching the waves. He loved watching her.

Always from the shadows, the branches, behind the leaves and out of sight.

How he wished he could meet her, speak to her, see those sparkling green eyes alight on him. But it was forbidden.

No God may contact a Mortal.

Unless they are dying.

He had no wish to see harm come to her, so he called himself her Guardian.

Only in her dreams could he really be with her. She didn’t know who he was, but he knew that she enjoyed his visits.

He only remained strong for a few months longer, until she was betrothed to some far off prince, and given a final night to herself, before the wedding preparations would begin.

That made him break his oath.

He cloaked himself in darkness, sheathed his red sword of light on his hip, and left Olympus in the dead of night.

The stars were out fully now, twinkling in the sky as the warm summer breeze danced throughout her hair and breathed over her skin.

She wore a lilac gown that was sheer in the moonlight, and she could have been a goddess herself.

He found his courage, and stepped out to greet her.

* * *

 

Prince Dameron seemed nice enough, from what she’d heard of him, and the letters he’d sent her, ahead of his actual visit, but Rey still didn’t like the idea of being told just who she could marry and love. Considering the fact she liked to think herself in love with the true man of her dreams, whom she didn’t know if he was real or simply the manifestation of her ideal qualities in a man. A good listener, handsome in an unusually uncommon manner, with long dark hair, darker eyes and a lopsided smile that made him twice as good looking.

He also towered over her, but that was just her mind running completely wild. No man could possibly exist who was over a head taller than her.

She was the tallest princess in the world, she was sure. Her betrothed would be a good few inches shorter than her, and everyone would laugh at them dancing after the ceremony.

Her cheeks heated with even the thought of the embarrassment, and she moved closer to the waves, dipping her feet into the cool waters, and wishing she could just swim away, abandon the kingdom and become a sea sprite.

“Good evening.”

A deep and smooth voice called out to her, and she nearly jumped a foot into the air from fright, before turning around to see a tall and foreboding figure in the distance, growing closer by the moment, having likely come from the forest beside the castle and ocean.

“The same to you.”

She answered carefully, edging away from the waters and back up the beach, curling her toes into the damp sands, preparing to flee back to the safety of the walls which she’d only been cursing moments before.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Rey managed a shaky imitation of a laugh and waved a regal hand gesture,

“You didn’t… I was just… lost in thought. The skies are beautiful tonight.”

The skies were always beautiful to look at, and Rey prayed one of her wedding presents would be a telescope. She’d told Prince Dameron of her desire to be an astronomer, and instead of chastising her for such a masculine aspiration, he’d told her he admired it, and was jealous of her love of the stars.

It was probably his way of telling her he’d prefer she direct some of her fondness towards him, but she didn’t care. He encouraged her passion, and that was good enough for her.

  
“I can see something far more breathtaking.”

The stranger replied, and the moon’s silver rays had reached them, him, and Rey drew a shuddering gasp of a breath.

Dark hair that fell in perfect waves around a long face with eyes that might pierce through her very soul, and lips far too plump than any man should have.

“Oh my god.”

Rey murmured.

It was the man from her dreams.

He _was_ real.

* * *

 

Her instinctive reaction had been more gentle than he’d expected. Normally when a woman is approached in the middle of the night by a complete stranger, they would probably run away as fast as possible.

But not Princess Reyna.

Or Rey, as he knew she preferred.

She was curious and now she’d recognized him.

He smiled. He couldn’t help it.

“In a way, yes.”

Her perfect brows met in confusion, and he knew she didn’t understand the joke she’d made.

“What? Who are you? I know you…”

She pressed her lips together, clearly trying desperately to figure out how it could all be possible, how the man she’d seen in dreams nearly every night since he’d first witnessed her walking alone on the beach from the steps of Olympus, was standing before her, and he endeavored to help her grow accustomed to his presence.

“Yes. My name is Kylo Ren. I’m…”

“The God of Darkness and Dreams.”

She was staring at him now, as if unsure if this wasn’t simply another dream itself.

He saw her crossed arms move, and one hand pinched the other arm, when her face contracted in a wince he stepped closer,

“Rey, stop. This is real. I am here. You’re not imagining me. I came down to speak with you because, because I had to. There’s very little time left. And I needed to tell you something.”

She was now within his reach, if he were to try, he could take her hand in his own, feel her warmth, and bask in it.

She was watching him now, perhaps wondering why a God would come down from the heavens to see her, a mere mortal, in the first place.

She had no idea.

“What is it?”

For a painful few moments, the crashing of waves and the breaking of crests was all that filled his ears, as he tried desperately to put together the words he’d been aching to tell her for so long.

She was slipping out of his grasp, and he’d not yet even touched her.

“I… I’ve…I’m in love with you. But you’re going to marry someone you don’t even know.”

Rey’s lips parted in a gasp, and he swore that color flushed over her cheeks, and her arms tightened around herself.

“What?”

* * *

 

The man before her, this supposed God, whom she now knew she had seen in dreams very clearly, how could she have ever thought she’d just created him all her own, was telling her he loved her?

She was a nothing, no one, in the vast scheme of the universe and the gods surely had better things to do than worry about the basic ants to their giants.

Thousands and thousands of years gods had lived, but now she was being faced with something incredible.

The exact opposite of the usual order of things. Mortals adored and worshiped the gods. But this god, Kylo Ren, adored her.

Did he visit her dreams because it was his own form of worship?

She didn’t know.

But she wanted to.

She reached out to him, and brushed a hand over the dark cloak concealing his form from her. His arms were braced at his sides, and she could feel the tension radiating off of him. Moving closer, she lifted her other hand to his face, brushing back a stray curl from his eyes, momentarily stunned by the intensity of his gaze upon her, before her thumb stroked over his cheek.

“Rey, you have stolen my heart, and I fear I will never get it back.”

His face was crumpling with emotion, and there were tears in his eyes. Rey had made a god cry.

This was truly a power she never knew she had.

“I will do my best to keep it in prime condition while it is in my care.”

He smiled a little at that, and then his eyes closed as she leaned into him, feeling his arms finally relax before encircling her, pulling her so close that she could no longer feel the night breeze anywhere but against her back.

“Tell me what you’re thinking.”

 He murmured.

Rey inhaled swiftly,

“Can’t you read my thoughts?”

He shook his head,

“Not that kind of god. I’d have more power in your dreams. But I never could have taken advantage of you. I wanted you to see me for what I was. Just a man.”

She shook her head right back at him.

“You’re not just a man. You’re the only man I know who’s taller than me, doesn’t want me for my money or my name, who knows me.”

His hands slide down from her back to her waist,

“I do want you.”

His voice had taken on a rougher edge, and she licked her lips, swallowing on a suddenly dry throat.

“Do you?”

His dark eyes locked with hers, and time seemed to slow when he leaned forward, and pressed his lips against her mouth.

* * *

 

He was kissing her, she was melting into his embrace, and the earth could split open and swallow them both, and he wouldn’t care or really make notice.

She tasted better than ambrosia and smelled like fresh air. His hands abandoned their position on her hips and moved up to destroy the perfect styling of her hair, his fingers running through the buns and freeing the brown waves to fall upon her shoulders.

She smiled against his lips, and broke the kiss, pulling back to pout slightly at him,

“What have you done?”

He grinned down at her,

“Made you look wild. Like the water goddess you could be.”

She looked surprised at his words. He had seen how she’d looked with longing at the waters, he knew.

The only question now was, what next? He could hardly take her on the beach, the sand would be everywhere, it was much too irritating for that. The forest was dark and damp, and very unromantic.

Her room was far, and too dangerous. That only left one place, the water itself.

He pulled away from her and began shedding his cloak, enjoying the look of confusion on her face.

“What are you doing?”

She asked, half worried for his sanity and half curious, after all, it wasn’t everyday he discarded his clothing for a beautiful mortal.

“Going for a swim. Care to join me?”

Rey watched as he stripped down to absolute zero, and he smiled as her eyes drank him in, her white teeth digging into her bottom lip as she paused her gaze on certain areas of his body.

Namely the extreme arousal he was experiencing just imagining them coming together, how her voice would sound broken by desire, and how she would feel, trembling in his arms.

“Okay.”

She reached up to push the wide straps of her dress off her shoulders, with what seemed like agonizing slowness, and then the fluttering fabric fell to the sand at her feet, baring her body to his gaze.

Forget a water sprite, she should be just worshipped as the goddess of the night. The moonlight made her skin seem to glow, and he swore he could map constellations on the freckles dotting her skin.

He took her hand and guided her out to the water, feeling the warm water lapping against his skin was second to the way her fingers fit with his.

Once they got to waist deep water, he stopped, and turned to look at her again, concern etched upon his face, he wanted to be sure.

“Rey, it’s not too late. You can tell me to leave, and I’ll never bother you again.”

She shook her head, and moved towards him, letting their bodies just barely brush against each other with the water hardly separating them,

“I want this. I want you. Make me feel like you do.”

Her hands were hesitant as they crept up his sides, grazing his ribs, and touching him places he’d never let a woman even see before.

His body belonged to her now, and always would.

She leaned up to kiss him again, and his hands lifted her into his arms easily, feeling her legs wrap around his waist, pressing the heat of her core against his stomach.

He groaned aloud into her mouth.

“What is it?”

She whispered, and he shook his head.

“You have no idea what you do to me, Rey. Without the water, I know you’d be dripping.”

Her eyes widened, and her cheeks pinked.

Her entire body blushed.

“I…uh, I’ve never…”

He nodded.

“I know. I’ve seen the desires in your dreams. You’re inexperienced, but trust me, I will take very great care with you.”

So he did.

He kissed her, and touched her right back, until she was practically begging him to do it.

She was already in the perfect position, so he simply lowered her slightly, having lined himself up at her center seconds before, and when he slid inside the wet heat of her, the stars burst to life behind his eyelids.

She felt…she felt, beyond incredible.

The gasp that dropped from her lips when he began to move was a precious treasure he wanted for all eternity.

The way she bit her lip as he stroked up against the one spot that was magic for a woman seared into his memory, and he gripped her to him tightly, letting not one inch of space exist between them.

When she began to climax, he kissed her and drank her sighs as her nails raked over his back.

He followed quickly afterwards, not bothering to pretend he was anything but entirely bewitched by her, and owned by her.

He fought to catch his breath and let her lean her cheek against his shoulder as she did the same, both of them simply listening to the water crashing on the shore, and being lulled to a dreamlike state with the movement of the waves.

* * *

 

“What’s going to happen now?”

Rey spoke first.

She was afraid. She wasn’t sure she could ever go back now, now that she’d made love to the man of her dreams, to a God who’d left his home to meet her.

Kylo Ren’s hand stroked over her bare back in a soothing gesture, but she knew he didn’t have the answer.

“Now you must go home and go to sleep. You’ve got a big few weeks ahead of you.”

Though the water was warm, and the night breeze barely cool, Rey felt goosebumps break over her skin.

The wedding. Prince Dameron. Her _future_ _as queen._

Sudden tears stung at the corner of her eyes, and Rey was choked up at once.

“I know. But how can I ever pretend to be happy with anyone but you?”

Kylo Ren pressed a kiss to her damp forehead, and sighed, his entire body moving with her, as she clung to him while he walked them back to shore.

“You can’t.”

They dressed in silence, and Rey used every ounce of her inner strength to keep from throwing herself back at him, begging him to take her with him, into the forest, into his mind, to Olympus itself, if it meant they could stay together.

“Rey, you know we’ll always have the nights like this.”

He was towering over her again, and clad in all black, he might have simply been a shadow, a ghost, a column of smoke.

Rey nodded.

“I’ll see you in my dreams then.”

He nodded.

“I love you.”

He leaned in to kiss her, one last time, and it tasted like the salty water of the sea, or perhaps he was crying too.

He was gone as quickly as he’d appeared, and Rey was left looking up at the stars, seeing the beginnings of light kissing the horizon.

Night was almost over.

Dawn would bring about the beginning of the end, she felt, but for one moment, one shining minute, she’d been content.

Adored and worshiped by a God.

* * *

 

**END**

 


	2. Chapter 2

Hux was practically spitting when he saw Kylo Ren returning, and the god of darkness and dreams merely brushed past him with a roll of his eyes,

“Save your ceaseless whining for someone who cares Hux. I’m dying for a chalice of ambrosia.”

“Where have you been? What have you _done_?”

Hux was probably staring after him, but there was no point in giving him the time of day.

Until thunder crackled in the cloudless sky, and the sun was blotted out by darkness in the blink of an eye.

‘Uh oh.’ Kylo Ren thought.

Maybe it wasn’t all just in Hux’s head.

The only being who could cause all that was his father, Han Solo. Where his father was, his mother was never far behind.

He grimaced and continued walking, changing his path from the leisure quarters to the main temple and the columns seemed to shake as he passed through them.

Leia was indeed waiting for him, but he couldn’t see where his father was.

“Kylo Ren…answer me with the truth, did you speak with a mortal?”

His teeth were in a vise like grip as he replied, not wishing to meet her eyes for fear that she would see more than he was willing to tell,

“Yes mother. We had a nice conversation about her future wedding, and then I left.”

Leia’s sharp inhale of breath should have been a warning all in and of itself.

“You spoke to someone outside of their dreams? You showed your true self?”

It wasn’t like he actively tried to hide himself when he’d gone to Rey in her sleep, but he understood the point.

“Yes.”

“ _You know what must happen now!”_

Oh perfect timing, now his father was getting involved.

Kylo Ren turned smoothly to greet Han Solo, who entered the cavern like the God he was, his tan robes rippling in the breeze from the storm _he’_ d created, and the urge to roll his eyes at his theatrics was very strong.

“Don’t act like you’re blameless. Before mother there was how many mortals you visited? Oh I don’t think they’ve invented a number yet.”

Leia might have looked embarrassed if she wasn’t goddess of all things, including the less good and pure, and Han exchanged a glance with her.

They all had moments they weren’t proud of, some more so than others. First and foremost, whoever filled their son in on past exploits, they were going to be severely punished.

“That may be true, but you must realize, you cannot remain in Olympus after breaking such a rule. You will be banished.”

Kylo Ren tilted his head, mockingly watching the pair of them,

“For how long?”

Han and Leia shared another look, and Leia sighed,

“As long is determined necessary.”

A painfully sharp smile twisted his lips, and Kylo Ren opened his arms wide,

“Do your worst. I regret not one moment spent ‘speaking’ to the mortal.”

They _knew_. They weren’t as stupid as he liked to pretend. They also probably didn’t regret him as much as he imagined either.

But they weren’t the ones who felt their very skin trying to pull away, as he fell backwards, dropping from the same edge he used to sit and observe his mortal from, before landing in the roughness of the sea with a painful impact that drove the breath from his own now mortal body.

The water caressed his skin and blotted out the returning sun as the clouds parted and the storm abated, the Gods above once again content that the troublesome problem was solved.

His eyes closed and he welcomed the icy tendrils that dragged him under.

* * *

 

Rey had barely slept a wink, but every moment had been exhilarating, expecting and awaiting the return of her god of darkness and mystery.

Instead she woke from a fitful sleep, having never dreamt of any single thing at all. It was strange to have been greeted by such a gnawing void where she was used to all encompassing feelings of desire or discovery.

The night before had almost seemed out of a dream, and she half wondered if it had been, but for the soreness between her legs, and the searing memory of such pleasure she’d never known at her own hand. It was her final morning to herself, until the planners and scribes arrived to herald the wedding plans, and her prince was expected to also reach the castle by nightfall.

Roaring waved and soothing rays of sunshine were her morning companions, and they would be, one last time.

She walked along the waves edge, feeling the sand creep between her toes, and the coolness helped soothe the fever inside her that seemed to burn with a frantic beat. She _missed_ him.

She knew it was foolish, but she couldn’t help it. She looked to the sky, towards the faroff mountain that could never be climbed by a mortal, to where Mount Olympus sat.

Praying had always seemed a pointless venture, but now she wondered if he could hear her.

“Kylo…” she whispered, pausing, unsure what to say.

What did one say to a one time lover?

A loud splash stole her attention, and she saw what appeared to be either a large fish trying to breach the surface, or someone who’d fallen from a nearby cliff.

Quickly glancing around the beach, she saw no one else who could lend aid, so without a thought, Rey stripped off her night robe, and jumped into the waves, naked but for the simple slip of a nightgown she wore.

Swimming came to her nearly as easy as breathing, and she reached the struggling form in moments.

They weren’t out too far, but could easily be fighting against currents and sapping their strength.

“Hold still! Stop struggling! I’ve got you!”

Why they were swimming in such heavy clothing, made no sense to Rey, it was possible they could drown simply from that poor decision.

If she hadn’t been there.

They were considerably larger than her, and extremely heavy while waterlogged, but she managed to pound some sense into them, slapping their back and forcing them back upwards to draw a breath from the surface.

“What…”

With his face plastered with soaked black strands and the light of the sun on his pale skin, he looked almost human.

It was Kylo Ren.

“Rey…”

Her voice was a prayer all its own on his lips, and he did as she asked at once, stopped moving except for the kicking of his strong legs, keeping them both afloat now.

“What were you thinking? Swimming in all that?”

She was blushing, she knew it, considering just how little she was wearing and that he knew her well enough without _anything_ it was rather ridiculous.

“I…wasn’t thinking really.”

He was grinning sheepishly, and it was a strange look for him.

“Well come on, let’s go to the shore. God or not, you could still drown here.”

She noticed how he didn’t argue with her, and that was curious. She’d just been teasing him. She’d heard stories of gods who walked on water, not swam them.

He collapsed beside her on the sands, and seemed to be fighting to catch his breath. She took a good look at him, really looked, and she swore something was different.

“Are you all right?”

He nodded, silent as his lungs continued to work.

“Do you have somewhere to stay?” she nearly bit her tongue, as she knew a second later she would invite him to the castle, but it would be for naught. Prince Dameron was coming that night! It wouldn’t do to have a strange man, who was more than mortal, staying in the same place her future husband was.

“No.”

His voice was a croak, far from the deep and husky seductive tone it had been the night before. Had that really only been last night? Rey shook herself, wondering why she’d ever imagined it just a dream. Here he was before her, waterlogged or not, she still had an incredible drawing and reaction to him. She was gripping her hands tightly against herself to keep from reaching for him, and her lips tingled where he’d kissed them hours before.


	3. Chapter 3

Kylo Ren wasn’t sure what sort of cruel joke the universe was playing on him. His deathwish had gone extremely south, and instead of waking up in the arms of the god of death and his queen, he’d been rescued from the jaws of the underworld by the mortal princess of life and love and beauty.

She was naked but for the scrap of white silk that had to be her nightwear, and he was no longer chilled from the water, he was aching for her.

A shiver wracked through his body, and he saw her instantly snap back to full attention.

“No matter. We have hundreds of spare rooms. I will find you one.”

She moved closer to him, pushing off the soaked mess that was his cloak, and he shivered again, but that time from the sheer warmth that her touch and nearness gave.

She pulled him close, hugging him to her, and he swore he grew hard from simply the innocent embrace.

“I’ve only got my robe here, but you can wear it until we can get you some drier clothes. All right?”

He looked up at her and instead of saying something smart, his eyes locked on her mouth, and he felt her breathing slow as she realized what he was looking at.

“Kylo…” she sighed his name like a prayer, and his hands instantly tightened around her.

“Yes?”

His voice was blessedly returning to normal, no longer having to devote his strength to resuming his normal breathing.

“I need to get you up to the castle. Think of some story. You were drowning, and I had to save you.”

Kylo licked his lips, and leaned up to brush hers with his own, just gently enough to test her reaction. She melted into it, and he smiled in relief.

“I was. You were a goddess of the sea to rescue me.”

Then he was kissing her in earnest, hands seeking purchase on her damp skin, fully prepared to wrench the wet silk from her skin to bare her to him again.

But her hot hands were on his chest, pushing him back, and he stopped, breaking the kiss to watch her with wide eyes, apologies already crawling up his throat.

“We can’t. I can’t, because my betrothed is traveling here as we speak. Surely you’ve seen in my thoughts, my dreams.”

Kylo Ren nodded even as he felt his now mortal heart being splintered into ragged fragments.

She was one hundred percent taken, and not his. But how he wished that was not so.

He felt the strength to stand, and let her put her tan robe around his shoulders, as she walked beside him, clutching his still soaked black cloak.

The castle was still mostly asleep, but servants quickly converged on their princess when she walked through the doors with a stranger at her side.

He tried to tune out most of what was said, but caught the words ‘Handsome’, ‘Dangerous’, and ‘Tall.’

They had no idea how right they were.

He was led to a room that was off of the kitchen, and he saw the pain and sadness in Rey’s eyes as she left him, but not before gently reaching up to take back her robe, and hand him the soggy mess that was the cloak.

He didn’t say goodbye. He’d see her again before the day was over.

For the moment, he crept towards the small bed in the side of the room, shed all his wet clothing, letting them plop to the floor in a wet pile, and then crawled under the thin covers, seeking out the blissful release of sleep.

***

“Are you sure we did the right thing?”

Leia folded her arms together and stared down at the distant castle, where she knew her son had been taken by the kind hearted mortal who’d found him.

Han practically growled in annoyance,

“He has to learn. He broke the rules. If this doesn’t do it, then some other steps must be taken. Permanent banishment is not off the table.”

Leia sighed.

“You know he has a point. You’ve done so much worse. Look at you now. You rule the Heavens.”

Han couldn’t meet her gaze, for he knew she was right.

“It is not a competition Leia. If he can overcome this, then he’ll return. If not…”

Neither of them noticed Hux in the shadows, listening carefully, before retreating from the open doors, and running down the hall back to his quarters.

* * *

 

Rey ignored the flurry of activity going on about her, as servants fussed with her hair, her face, and began dressing her for the all important dinner.

She knew it was supposed to be one of the most exciting moments of her life, a first meal with her betrothed, but she couldn’t help wondering how Kylo Ren was doing.

Was he even still inside the castle walls?

Of course he was.

She was foolish for thinking otherwise. He would never simply run away.

Not from her.

The wave of people parted, and she could finally look in the mirror at herself.

What she saw was a vision of incredible beauty, and there was no way on earth it could be her. Brown hair, usually in unkept waves, was always streaked with gold, but now was pulled back from her face in perfect curls, a few stray strands wisping about her chin. Her eyelids were painted with gold, enhancing the green of her irises, while her lips were the pink orange coral that she’d seen underwater in the sunlight.

The dress she wore was black lace and silver stones, and she looked like a princess for the first time in many years.

Her shoes were heeled, and she hoped she wouldn’t trip and land in the pudding.

The fanfare was deafening as she walked into the ballroom and entered the dining room, and across from her at the table was Prince Dameron, it had to be. Who else could the man with perfect curls and sparkling brown eyes be?

He was handsome indeed. He looked even better than his painted portrait, and in white and gold, he seemed to be almost too regal for even the magnificent castle he was in.

His white teeth gleamed at her when he smiled, and his white gloved hand was soft against her skin, even more so than his lips on the back of her hand.

“My lovely Reyna, you outshine the sun, the moon, and even the stars tonight.”

She found herself giggling slightly before she could catch it, and the denials that itched on the tip of her tongue seemed rude, although she could never imagine herself more beautiful than the night sky.

“Thank you, Prince Dameron.” Was what she said instead.

“Please, call me Poe.”

He answered smoothly, and she once again bit her tongue, that time to curb another laugh. Poe? What a strange name. Not at all suited to his handsome face.

They sat down to the meal, and her father instantly engaged the Prince in conversation, all the while her mind wandered.

It wasn’t until dessert was being brought out, and Rey’s corset was feeling unusually tight, that she realized the Prince… Poe, was speaking to her.

“I’m sorry?”

Her father was looking rather pained, and she blinked over at the – Poe, who smiled kindly, and repeated the question.

“I hear that we have a special guest in the castle, besides myself of course. There’s talk of someone that nearly drowned in front of you. But you, you jumped in and saved them.”

Rey finally did laugh, and it was a nervous shaky sound that surely gave her away.

“Oh yes. That. I did. I was simply out for a walk, breathing in the healing salt air, and I saw a man struggling out in the waves. There was no one else around to call for aid, so I did what anyone would have.”

Poe’s dark eyebrow lifted, as Rey’s father took a large gulp of wine,

“Anyone? Princess, I think you’re too kind. Most people would not get involved if it was not someone personal to them. You’re very admirable for your selflessness.”

Rey smiled carefully and shrugged. Though he was technically right, in the end it turned out they were someone personal to her. But at the time, when she’d made the leap, she hadn’t known.

“Well, this was a delicious meal, many thanks to your cooks, but I wonder if we might take a walk, would you accompany me down to your lovely beach, Princess?”

Why was he calling her that, instead of her by her name?

Rey nodded, and stood up from the table, making her way to the door, awaiting Poe to join her.

She heard him say something to her father, and then he was at her side.

His arm through hers belied his strength, hidden somewhat by the heavy layers of white and gold fabric, and though he was indeed a couple inches shorter than her, she wondered if he could make up for it with interesting conversation, and more than that, what did his heart hold?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i honestly have no idea what i'm doing or where this is going


	4. Chapter 4

The Prince was exceedingly nervous, and as Reyna took his arm, he fought to find the words to say exactly what he was feeling. Keeping an easy rapport going with her parents throughout dinner had been simple, but now that he was faced with his future wife, alone, he wasn’t sure how to speak.

The warm breeze blowing in from the ocean brought forth a topic.

“Do you enjoy swimming?”

It was probably the most ridiculous question she’d ever had. She’d grown up with the sea at her front doorstep, of course she liked swimming.

But instead of laughing at his idiocy, she smiled gently and nodded,

“It’s one of my favorite pastimes. Sitting out here and watching the waves, or being inside them, feeling the pulse of the ocean’s heartbeat on my skin. It’s magical.”

Poe froze in his step, turning to look at her, and the way she was gazing out at the water, and something broke inside of him.

“I think I was in love with you from the first word I read on paper by your hand. Reyna, you have no idea how you have stolen my heart. Anything you ask for, I will make it so that it is in your hands.”

Now she was looking at him, and the full force of those eyes, those eyes _so green_ they could will life itself from a desert, they pierced him to his soul.

“Poe…there’s nothing I want more than this.”

Her smile was fragile, and her words were hollow.

She was lying.

But what about and why?

“You are content with this marriage? You think you could love me?”

Her smile twisted and turned and she was looking away from him,

“I could learn to love anything, with enough time.”

Would that he could read minds, and know exactly what she was thinking in that moment.

Instead, he shucked off his gloves, pocketing them, and then took her hand in his, stroking his thumb over the back of her knuckles,

“I would very much like to believe that.”

They were not far apart to begin with, and all that was inhibiting him was her height, so he leant up on the very tips of his toes to press a kiss to her cheek, and she turned, startled, just in time to meet his lips with her own.

Surprise colored her features, but she reached up to steady him with a hand on his cheek, and he fiercely prayed she was kissing him back.

There was no heat, no passion, no warmth in anything but her touch.

Poe’s heart sank.

Something was wrong, because she had no love to give to him, it already belonged to someone else.

The kiss broke, and with it, his heart.

Reyna stared out at the sea again, and he thought he could see the quiver in her lips to match the sting of tears in his eyes.

It wasn’t too late.

They were betrothed but no papers had been signed and witnessed.

How would he begin to explain to the King and Queen and his parents what he was considering?

He did not know.

* * *

 

Rey wasn’t sure what had happened. She’d let him kiss her yes, but she’d hated every second of it. Never in her life had she ever wanted to just _crawl_ out of her own skin, except in that moment. He was everything the perfect man should be, handsome, kind, clever, and he had an infectious manner of speaking.

He made her feel desired and loved, and yet the instant he touched her, it all went cold.

The fire that had bloomed inside her stomach the night before when _he’d_ kissed her was not even sparking to life one bit.

She continued walking on the shore with Poe until he begged his leave to get some rest, and she remained. She watched the stars and thought to herself was this what it felt like to die? To face a life without love?

Learning to love someone was a farce. She would rather _feel_ than force herself to feel.

“You look lost.”

Dark and dulcet tones filled her ears, and her heartbeat skittered to a stop under her skin, before beginning again with a shudder.

The roaring in her ears was not the ocean waves, it was her blood rushing through her veins, her skin heated, and her stomach twisted into knots.

He was at her side in an instant, and she fought the urge to run to him, to throw herself in his arms. Even now, her hands wrapped around her arms as they crossed and she fought to breath normally.

“I am right at home, therefore I am no such thing.”

She answered with confidence, but her voice wavered to her own ears.

He chuckled smoothly, and clicked his tongue at her. Could he read her very thoughts?

“Don’t bother lying to me. I saw how uncomfortable he made you.”

Rey bristled with mock annoyance, though secretly she was pleased.

“You’ve been spying on me? This is the thanks I get for saving your life and allowing you into my home?”

Kylo Ren inched closer to her, and now she swore she could feel the heat radiating off of his body, and when he spoke, his lips were brushing against her earlobe,

“I’ve always been watching over you, now I merely do it from much nearer.”

Rey inhaled sharply, and he slide around her, blocking her view of the ocean, his tall form filling her entire field of vision.

“Right. Should I ask you to leave?”

She glared up at him in defiance, and he smiled, almost patronizing,

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No.”

Her voice was a raspy murmur.

The truth was she wanted him to hold her and never let go. Tell her everything would be all right. Lie through his teeth and kiss her til she bruised.

“I thought not.”

He stepped right up to her, body flush with hers instantly, and his strong arms were encircling her, as if he’d read her mind. She melted into his embrace and the world faded away when his lips brushed over her forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no fear, i did finally complete this and it has a clear direction.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO FINNALLY SHOWS UP! i mean finally...err  
> well ya know

“This is bad, this is wrong, I’m going to be in so much trouble.”

Poe was pacing his room, an enormous guest wing of the castle, and the dim light from the low burning candles was bare enough to light his way, he kept tripping over one of his suitcases every time he walked past it.

Finally on the third time around, he completely fell, and sprawled to the ground with little to no dignity and grace befitting the future king of the land.

The crash brought the attention of a servant, who quickly rushed to his aid.

Poe grimaced at his own thoughtlessness. He shouldn’t have left the door open, surely the king and queen were having him watched, subtly, by the help, and he’d just made a fool of himself.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure your highness?”

The smooth voice made Poe look up, and the strong hand under his arm, helping to his feet certainly made him look twice.

Brown eyes that were like twin pools of warm chocolate instantly snagged his attention.

“I’m sure. Thank you…?”

The man smiled, brilliant white teeth against his dark skin,

“Finn. Just Finn, your highness. Glad I could help you. Try to be careful. If you need more candles lit, simply ask.”

Poe blinked, once, twice, and then nodded.

“I could use some more, yes. Thank you again.”

Finn ducked his head, with a strange sort of bow, and Poe nearly winced. He hated how automatic that was for everyone around him.

“At once Sire.”

Poe continued pacing, slower, and more cautiously, and for the first time in weeks found himself not worrying about the wedding.

He just wondered if Finn would be the one returning with the candles, or if he’d pass it off to someone else.

Not that it mattered.

Just a small feeling of something like optimism.

He needed to write a letter to be sent home to his parents but after that speaking with Reyna and her parents would be the harder part. His parents could do nothing until her returned home.

He shuddered to imagine the wrath of the people he was currently a guest of.

Reyna would be relieved, he was sure.

Two sharp knocks ripped him out of his thoughts, and he turned to find Finn standing in his doorway, a tray of fresh candlesticks balanced in his hand, while the other was in a fist upon the door.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.”

His voice was softer, quiet, as if aware Poe should probably be asleep at such a late hour.

“That’s okay. I guess I’m just jumpy.”

Finn set the candles down and around the others, replacing and relighting as required, but he stopped when he noticed Poe’s discarded jacket.

“That’s a beautiful piece.”

The light reflected off the pure gold stitching, and Poe sighed. It was a symbol of opulence and elegance and yes, it was nice, but it was also only reserved for special occasions, like dinner with the family of one’s betrothed.

“Thank you.” Poe was struck by the way the servant was looking at it still, and a mad thought leapt to his head, and out his mouth, “Try it on.”

Finn glanced at him, perhaps wondering if he’d been taken by a spot of madness, but Poe was completely sober.

“Are you sure?”

He practically stuttered out the question, and Poe nodded.

“Sure. Why not?”

It wasn’t as if he could hurt it. It was just clothing.

Finn picked it up with his hands, delicate as he could, and Poe watched him now, as the servant moved over to the looking glass, carefully slipping first one then his other arm into it, pulling it on straight and staring at himself in the mirror.

“Wow. Is this what it feels like?”

Poe took a couple steps closer, and stuck his hands in his pockets,

“How what feels?”

Finn sighed,

“Being royalty? Princess Rey walks around as if she’s sad, most of the time, but she looks so beautiful. Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

Finn moved to shuck off the jacket, and Poe could see it was something he did only out of duty, reluctant and slow.

“Wait.”

Poe’s hand landed on Finn’s shoulder, stopping his movement.

The gold brocade and threading on the white silk was truly a work of art, but against Finn’s skin seemed to make him look otherworldly, beautiful in his own way.

Something twisted low in Poe’s stomach, and a flare of warmth shot up his spine. What was that?

Something he’d imagined Rey would induce in him, he found himself experiencing with a total stranger, and stranger yet…a man.

“Should I go?”

Finn asked in a hushed whisper, and he seemed to be unsure, as if Poe still needed him for something.

Maybe he did.

“Am I keeping you from your work?”

Poe didn’t dare look up from the seam of the jacket, almost afraid to meet Finn’s eyes in the mirror, as if it would shatter, and break the spell’s hold on them.

“You are my work. I’ve been assigned to you for the duration of your stay, your highness.”

Poe gulped.

He hated being called that…except, every time Finn had said it, the pool of warmth in his stomach had gotten hotter.

“Right.”

“Do you mind if I take it off now? I don’t want to sweat in it, and it’s very warm.”

Poe instantly lifted his hand away and stepped back a decent length,

“Of course! Yes. Wouldn’t want that.”

He pinched his temples between his thumb and forefinger, and sighed. What the hell was he doing?

Finn shucked off the jacket and set it back down on the chair it had been thrown carelessly onto, that Poe nearly felt weak in the knees.

“Thank you Sire.”

Before he could stop himself he was saying something ridiculous again,

“Keep it.”

Poe was shocked at himself when Finn froze in place, his hand still touching the fabric.

“What?”

“It suits you.”

The servant’s eyes went wide, and Poe knew he’d made a mistake. He’d gone too far.

“Really?”

The hushed awe in his voice was too much.

Poe nodded.

“Yeah. I could have a dozen others made with just a word.”

It was probably an exaggeration, but Finn didn’t need to know that.

The pure joy that lit up his face as he pulled the jacket back into his arms was more than worth it.

Poe grinned, despite himself.

“Thank you so much Sire! This is the most wonderful gift I’ve ever gotten.”

A worn jacket? Poe was confused by how something so trivial could be so…

Then Finn was slamming into him, driving the breath from his lungs with a tight hug, and Poe could barely bring his arms up fast enough to hug him back.

It broke all the rules of protocol and servants and princes, but Poe didn’t care.

In fact, he inhaled deeply, as soon as he could, and he realized the reason he felt weak in the knees was from Finn’s cologne.

“Wow. You smell good.”

He probably should have stopped there, and not leaned in to take another deep breath, and Finn wouldn’t have turned red in the face, and he wouldn’t have felt the way his hands clenched briefly before completely letting go.

“Thank you. It’s just cloves and sandalwood.”

“Mhm,” Poe hummed, “It’s heavenly.”

He gulped, and felt the room begin to close in on him, as breathing became difficult, and Finn was suddenly much, much closer.

The jacket was tossed aside, and there was no space between them.

Poe fought to focus his vision on anything but Finn’s plump lips, but failed.

“Your highness?”

He only heard him because he was standing so close.

“Kiss me.”

Finn probably hesitated for a split second before leaning in the rest of the way to do just that.

Poe swore he was flying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im finnpoe trash so yeah. i love all their scenes so i recreated them and i hope its ok aahhhh


	6. Chapter 6

When Rey could finally catch her breath, and Kylo let her go, the first thing she did was walk into the waves, so deep she couldn’t feel her toes digging into the sand anymore.

“What are you doing?”

Kylo called after her.

“Trying to wash away the scent.”

She didn’t mean it to sound as hurtful as it probably did.

But the fact was, she was practically a married woman.

Princess.

It wouldn’t do to return with traces of another man on her skin. Although, he was more than on her, he’d been _in_ her, and more than just her body.

Traces of him were still singing on her taste buds, and his kisses had made her lips swollen. Not to mention the marks on her hips and her neck, she had little to no idea how she’d explain them on the wedding night.

They wouldn’t fade for days.

“Rey. Stop this.”

Strong arms yanked her back towards the shoreline, and her steady resolve crumbled, tears stinging her eyes the same way the salty air usually did.

“No…I can’t…I can’t let myself love you.”

She pounded his bare chest with her fists, but it was fruitless. She could no more hurt him physically than punching a boulder would cause sand to emerge.

He groaned when she made contact with his left shoulder, and she gasped aloud.

She’d completely forgotten that it had been what she’d grabbed hold of when she’d first rescued him. The skin was black and purple, like it had been painted with watercolor, and she’d thought it a trick of the mind first, but it still hadn’t faded.

He had been hurt.

How?

He was a god!

“Sorry.” She caressed the skin, gently, and he sighed.

“It’s okay. I need to tell you something.”

With the silver moonlight above them, shimmering and making them both look like angels, Rey looked up at him and blinked, nodding, allowing him to continue.

“I’ve been cast out. Banished until I can learn my lesson.”

Rey frowned.

“What do you mean?”

Kylo Ren grimaced,

“I spoke with you. I engaged…certain things, beyond what we should have, so I was thrown out by my father.”

Rey’s eyes widened, and she gripped his arms, pulling back to look at him, really look at him, and she could see smudges of darkness beneath his eyes, like he hadn’t slept, and the moonlight illuminated other scars she’d never seen, one slashing his chest nearly diagonally in half, the other splashed beneath his ribs.

“Battles with Titans. Usually I can will them away, but without my power…my immortality, I’m just like you.”  
His hand brushed over her face, fingers stroking a stray strand of wet hair from her forehead.

She was blinking rapidly now, willing away tears, whether for him or herself, she didn’t know.

“You’re saying that I got you in trouble? You can be hurt because of me? What if you get seriously hurt? What if you _die_?”

Kylo Ren shook his head,

“If that happens, and it won’t, it’s fine. My uncle is the ruler of the underworld. I’d simply become immortal there, and return home and wreak havoc. It would simply annoy my father…in fact…”

He broke off, looking thoughtful, and Rey put an end to that line of thought immediately.

“You _will not_ go after that. Reckless behavior is not allowed.”

Kylo Ren looked back down at her from where he’d been staring out at the sea, and he chuckled,

“My little Princess, ordering me around. You’re adorable. Are all mortals this blasphemous?”

Rey huffed out a sigh of annoyance,

“I’m _not_ little. And yes. Some are worse. Some actively sin and enjoy it.”

His fingers traced down her cheek to her neck and then stroked over her bare breast,

“Like this? Like our little sins?”

He was bending down to whisper in her ear, and shivers ran down her spine.

She hadn’t forgotten where they’d first, well, _sinned_ , and it was becoming harder and harder to find something to fight with him about.

“Yes.”

She leaned up into him, nuzzling against his bare chest, and her arms wound around him, pulling him closer, until he was once again marking her skin, making her his.

* * *

 

Kylo Ren finally let her go when the moon began to set, and she would be missed in the castle by her servants.

He stayed on the beach for a long while, before leisurely making his way back to his room in the castle, taking the long way around, with a point to pass by the future king’s room.

The curtains were drawn, but they were loose, fluttering in the morning breeze, and there was a flicker of movement, which drew his attention.

He moved closer, still clinging to the shadows, ever the god of darkness, mortal or not. There was Prince Dameron, shifting in the silk sheets, bare from the waist down, that he could see, and then a dark figure beside him.

He cocked a brow in curiosity, and slid closer. Someone else was in the Prince’s bed, and certainly was not Rey.

There was a broad expanse of bare back, and then Prince Dameron’s arm falling across it. Both bodies shifted, and Kylo Ren saw it was a man. A man in the Prince’s bed.

That was a unique turn of events.

The sheer intimacy with which they moved and interacted almost made Kylo Ren shrink away, for it was something not meant to be seen with outside eyes.

Did Rey know her heart did not belong to the Prince alone?

Content, they both seemed to fall back asleep, and Kylo Ren began walking back to his room, the usual route.

He was not sure what to do. He did not want to be seen as trying to sabotage the future alliance, but he also did not want Rey getting hurt or embarrassed in any way.


	7. Chapter 7

Poe wasn’t sure the last time it was that he woke up smiling. The warm body beside him was firm and strong and not at all what he imagined he’d end up doing.

He was blushing, he was sure.

Finn’s still sleeping form was so innocent looking, younger in repose, and Poe leaned up on his elbow, just watching him for a few moments, before considering just how badly the night could have gone.

He could have run screaming the first time he touched him, even just on the shoulder, perfectly normal. He could have denied him the kiss, and then run.

He could have flinched away from Poe’s curious looks and hands, and then run.

But he didn’t.

In fact, Poe was almost sure he’d seen the face of god when he’d first touched him. Well, there were many, but surely there was a god of pleasure and something ridiculously like love.

Poe fell back against the pillows, and gritted his teeth. That was foolish. Thinking something like that so fast, so serious.

He didn’t even know Finn’s last name.

He knew what he’d say.

‘Would you like it to be Dameron?’

The smile stole over his face again far too easily.

“What’s so funny?”  


Finn was awake.

Poe’s heart might have skipped a beat.

“Nothing. Just thinking about last night.”

Finn suddenly looked nervous.

“I was that bad huh?”

Poe instantly sat up, as if struck by lightning,

“No! Of course not. I mean, I’m still kind of unsure it really happened. It seems like all too good to be true. Like a dream. Except for the fact, you’re still here.”

Poe reached out slowly, daringly tracing a fingertip over Finn’s bare shoulder, down to his wrist, and he wove their fingers together.

Finn let him.

“I’m still here. But I do need to go soon. Morning duties.”

Poe blinked.

“Aren’t you mine?” Finn’s eyes widened, and Poe hastened to correct, or amend, “My servant I mean. So you can stay. You can help me get ready for breakfast.”

Finn nodded.

“Right.”

“Yeah.”

Poe grinned, and leaned in the same instant Finn did, and the sun rose as they kissed.

* * *

 

Rey walked into the dining room slowly, as if awaiting a firing squad, and took her seat across from Prince Dameron, Poe.

Her mother was the first one there, and her father’s absence seemed to make everyone feel more at ease, while also more jumpy.

Or maybe that was just her and Poe.

“Did you sleep well, your highness?”

She asked politely, not really caring.

But the dark smudges underneath Poe’s eyes spoke for themselves, and she had half a mind to accuse him of insomnia.

Not that she could talk. She’d been up half the night with her own form of distraction.

“Not really. But I’ve never felt better.”

He smiled brightly at her, and she faltered in her stern mask.

Was he being serious?

He was looking forward to their wedding still, that much?

After the horrible dead fish of a kiss they’d shared?

He was delusional, he had to be.

Rey simply nodded politely and ignored her mother’s pointed stare of curiosity.

“Walk with me?”

Poe spoke up suddenly, and the screech from his chair being pushed back was enough to wake the dead, Rey was sure.

She dropped her fork, done pretending to eat, and she smiled brightly, so wide it almost hurt,

“I’d love to. Good morning Mother.”

She nodded to the queen, and then walked swiftly to Poe’s side, taking his offered arm, and they were striding fast to the gardens, where they would have relative privacy compared to the beach, where anyone would see and possibly overhear.

“What’s going on?”

Rey spoke first.

Poe was biting his lip nervously, and his hands were wringing together.

“I’ve decided to break off our engagement.”

Rey blinked at him in shock.

“Oh.”

Poe looked at her, and his face seemed to radiate sympathy,

“I apologize for my rudeness, but I don’t believe I love you, nor do you love me. The idea of you, yes, so wonderful. But reality, I do not want to marry someone I do not love.”

Rey nearly cried with relief.

“I feel exactly the same. That is to say, I feel nothing of love for you. In fact, I’ve been in love with a man I’ve known almost a year now.”

Poe looked intrigued, but now Rey wanted some truth of her own.

“What made you realize…?”

Poe’s cheeks actually turned pink and Rey’s curiosity blossomed into a full on forest fire.

“The kiss.”

He said, nearly the same instant she did.

“Yes! It felt wrong. I must confess it was not my first.”

Rey blurted out.

Poe smiled, somewhat shyly in her opinion,

“I wish I could say the same. I didn’t know it would feel so…empty. It _was my_ first.”

Rey clapped her free hand to her mouth,

“Oh gods, I’m sorry. I was the worst first kiss in the universe.”

Poe laughed, a light airy sound,

“Not at all. The second more than made up for it.”

Rey nudged him in the side, a horribly undignified move, and she grinned,

“Tell me. I’ll tell you my first.”

Poe looked as if he might not for a moment, before he nodded, and relented.

“It was not a woman.”

Rey nearly barked out a laugh.

But the truth was, how could she judge? She’d kissed and let a god make love to her in the ocean, she was the epitome of sin.

“If it was like floating on air and drowning all at once, then it was good.”

She felt a little dreamy just imagining Kylo Ren kissing her, and Poe sensed it at once.

“Yes. It was exactly like that. I felt reborn, and all at once content to die.”

Rey hugged his arm in hers,

“I’m so glad to hear it. It should always be like that. Like fire meeting ice, and something indescribable.”

“But yours…who was it? If I may ask.”

Poe was being very nosy, but she didn’t mind. He wanted a name? He could have it. He wouldn’t believe her anyway.

“Kylo Ren.”

Rey answered, and within a heartbeat, he was there.

Stepping out from the shadows, emerging like the dark sun from behind a darker cloud.

Rey stopped short, and Poe did the same as Kylo filled the pathway with his form.

“You called?”

He looked angry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more of the baes and jealous!kylo is my fave


	8. Chapter 8

Kylo Ren was more than a little annoyed, seeing her walking arm in arm with _him_ was more than enough to make him wish he had his powers back. The fact was he could still follow her, and when she spoke his name, like the devil, he appeared.

“I, uh, I was just telling Poe that you were my first kiss.”

She blushed prettily, and glanced at her Prince, before back at him.

Kylo Ren was confused. Why would she tell him that?

Then the words sunk in.

_He was her first?_

A small welling of pride rose up in him, threatening to overwhelm the rage that she’d told something like that to the fool who was lying to her.

“Did he tell you where he was last night? Or who was with him?”

Kylo Ren glared pointedly at the Prince, hoping to see him squirm, but instead he shrugged, and Rey turned to look at him with mere curiosity.

“Oh? You were with someone? No wonder you didn’t get much sleep.”

As if it was a joke they shared.

Kylo Ren instantly felt stupid. The Prince wasn’t about to lie to her, he’d been on his way to confessing it.

“I met someone, and yes, he ended up staying in my room. Gods that sounds strange. I never thought that would happen. I mean, there I was, trying to find the words to tell you, and my family that the wedding was off and then there he was.”

The Prince had an idiotic grin on his face that was causing Rey to grin right back.

“I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. Well, not the breaking of the engagement because, I have no other prospects, but the fact you met someone who brought out your true self…well, that’s something we wait our whole lives for.”

The glance she threw him was enough to punch him in the gut.

God or not, she felt like he was…someone she’d waited her whole life for?

Unappealing as the thought was, now he wanted nothing more than to return to Mount Olympus to plead for his father to allow him to stay on earth with her.

He would.

He’d lived so many years.

But he’d gladly give them up to die at her side.

By the time the afternoon had arrived, clouds were gathering in the sky, but Kylo Ren didn’t see them, he only saw her. His Rey.

* * *

Hux stood triumphant in front of Luke, and Mara, the rulers of the Underworld, and when the image dissolved into mist, he asked,

“You see? He’s considering giving up his work, his duties, and remaining mortal. All because of a silly girl.”

Luke didn’t look convinced.

“Are you sure harming her is the best way to go about getting him back in Olympus? It could be an error.”

Hux shook his head,

“He’s been banished. He doesn’t care. He needs to be tested.”

The fact of the matter was, Hux would have given anything to have Kylo’s powers, and he hoped he would, when the-would-be god failed the test. When he died trying to save his so called love.

Dying as a mortal would be permanent, Hux would see to that.

Luke was easily swayed, and distracted.

Spring was coming after all. His own mate would be leaving soon, and he was trying to cling to every last moment with her.

The moment the Underworld was left unguarded, Hux would strike.

The Titans would be set free, and once they were set upon Olympus, the power void would need to be filled.

Hux smiled to himself.

This time, Kylo Ren would not be able to stop them all single handedly with the aid of his father, it would be his doom, and the gods would be begging for Hux to serve at his side, or beneath him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sry for the absence, been rough in life and work.


	9. Chapter 9

The letter was drafted, and Poe was simply reading over it for the thousandth time, as Finn looked over his shoulder, arms wrapped around him from behind, occasionally distracting Poe with a kiss.

“You’re sure I don’t sound desperate? Like a fool in love?”

The word slipped from his lips by pure accident, and though it had been only a handful of days, and Rey’s parents had been more than generous, with words and allowing him to stay, he’d not been sure he was ready to admit just how far gone he was, but it was out there, and too late to take it back.

Finn’s hands gripped Poe’s shoulders tighter, but they didn’t move away.

“I think we’re all fools in love.”

His answer was diplomatic without giving away a single thing.

Poe dropped the letter, and spun around in the chair to face him,

“Say you’ll come back home with me. No matter what they say. Rule with me.”

Finn blinked at him, long and slow,

“Would that even be possible?”

Poe smiled,

“That doesn’t sound like a ‘no.’”

Finn sighed,

“It’s not. But I can’t say yes to something that can’t happen.”

Poe tilted his head,

“Won’t I be king?”

Finn shrugged,

“I suppose.”

“Then don’t I make the rules?”

Finn chuckled,

“I suppose.”

Poe nodded,

“So if I come home with a Prince regent instead of a Princess, it’s gonna be okay. Because I say so.”

Finn leaned in close, pressing their foreheads together and he murmured,

“Your highness, you’re a little power mad, you know that?”

Poe grinned,

“Always for you.”

It was easy to close the distance to peck a kiss on his lovers lips.

Maybe it was all a mad dream, but he knew Finn would look incredibly handsome all in gold and white, in more than just that jacket.

Although, he had to find that tailor and send him some roses and chocolates. Without that jacket, he’d be a very sad and bitter husband to a woman he didn’t love like she needed.

Luckily, she had her own god turned man.

* * *

 

“How much longer is your exile?”

Rey looked up at Kylo Ren as they walked along the shore, the warming water lapping at their ankles.

The sun was low in the sky, but already shadows were growing on the ground, and Kylo seemed to gravitate toward them.

It was part of what she loved about him.

He clung to his origins.

“I don’t know. I’ve only gotten a message from Hux, my oldest and dearest friend, that things were ‘Almost ready’ but that was two days ago. It’s been almost a week. That’s a blink of the eye for a god, but when you’ve been banished and time moves the same for all mortals and you, a lot can happen in such a short time.”

“Right.”

Rey wasn’t sure if she should be insulted or not. She decided to be insulted.

Secretly, she loved when they fought.

“What?”

He was staring at her, and he’d stopped, dragging backwards on her hand linked with his.

“I just, I can’t believe every chance you get, you rag on us mortals. You’re stuck being one until your parents decide otherwise. You could be nice about it.”

She tried to keep the frown in place for more than a few moments, but failed.

He leaned in to kiss away the wrinkles on her forehead, and the light behind him changed.

The sun was setting, but it was a brighter red than she’d ever seen.

Like fresh spilled blood.

“Is that normal? Or am I imagining things?”

Kylo’s lips froze on her skin, and his hand seemed to turn like ice in hers.

“No.”

His voice was a hushed whisper.

“What is it?”

A roar like thunder filled the air, but there were no clouds in the sky.

“ _Titans_.”

Rey glanced at the skyline again, before looking back at Kylo.

The things that had scarred him? As a god?

“What?”

“They’ve been released. Somehow. They’re supposed to be locked in prison for eternity in the Underworld. We nearly destroyed the earth trying to contain them…I can’t imagine how they got out, unless…”

Kylo trailed off, and his face drained of color.

Rey tugged on his arm urgently,

“What is it? Unless what?”

He looked down at her, and her skin erupted in goose bumps as something like pure fury shined out from his eyes, like twin black holes boring into her,

“Unless someone let them out.”

* * *

 

Hux was totally gone. Completely mad with power, he was gleeful in the destruction that the Titans created. He was cackling with delight; filled with the evil that killing brought, and only fed off of the havoc of the monsters, the behemoth that they represented.

Gone was the god that Kylo Ren had once known. Could have called his friend, his brother even.

Hux was not a force to be reckoned with, he was a swirling vortex of doom. Not redeemable or salvageable, but only to be stopped.

Han Solo and Leia looked down at the approaching Titans and could only send out the small force they had. What need did gods have for an army? Who could possibly challenge them?

Well, the challengers were almost at the gates.

“How did this happen?”

Leia was asking him.

“I don’t know.”

“Did we do the right thing? By sending Kylo away, did we cause this?”

Han shook his head.

“No Leia. Don’t blame yourself or this on our son. This is completely Hux’s responsibility. He made his own choices.”

“I can’t help it. When Luke finds out…”

Han nodded.

“He’ll blame himself too.”

“It’s in our nature.”

Han smiled sadly,

“That’s why I fell in love with you. Sky Walkers are defined by their emotions, good and bad.”

Leia’s eyes filled with tears,

“I just hope Kylo is okay.”

Han hugged her tightly,

“He will be. He has to be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and yes, if it isn't obvious, i'm heavily borrowing from Disney's Hercules.


	10. Chapter 10

Rey had no idea what the creatures were capable of, and if Kylo had his way, she never would.

“Stay here. Stay safe. Do not come out until this storm has ended. When the skies are calm, then it will be over. Promise me.”

He kissed her with a fierceness to rival their first meeting, and she met him with equal passion, her hands scrabbling desperately for a hold on him. She didn’t want to let him go.

Without his powers, how could he fight something that hurt him as a god?

The truth was, he had little to no idea either.

He just hoped he could make Hux see reason, impossible a thought it might be.

Walking away from her was the hardest thing he’d ever done. But it was for her protection.

Reaching the outskirts of the city and when the castle was only a distant spire, he could feel the vibrations of the earth, the result of the Titans marching on Olympus, which he could almost see, but for the cloud cover from the storms.

“Hux! Where are you brother? Come out!”

Appealing to his heart was probably not the wisest decision, as Hux was not ruled by his emotions; rather, he drew pride from commanding others and abandoning emotion.

It did work to get his attention, and with a striking bolt of lightning that seemed to make the entire atmosphere sizzle, Hux was there, fury etched on his face, as wind blew his short red hair into a frenzy and stirred his dark slate robes, making him seem to float off the ground.

“Look who it is, the puny god who fell for a mortal. You’re barely a shadow of your original self. How far you’ve fallen.”

Kylo Ren smiled darkly,

“Don’t even speak of her. You’re not worthy to think her name. Look at you brother. What have you become? My time on earth among mortals has taught me many things. Least of all that I should have known better than to trust you.”

Hux strolled past him, looking to the skies where the Titans, _his_ Titans, were converging on Olympus.

“You’re just jealous you didn’t think of it first. I know you hate Han and Leia as much as I do, and when they’re gone, and I rule, you’ll wish you’d never spoken against me.”

Kylo Ren shook his head,

“I don’t hate them. I resented them, yes, but I still love them. They’re my blood. What can you possibly do to me that they haven’t? Why should I fear you?”

At that moment, he drew his sword, long hidden and concealed inside his cloak, but still a functioning weapon of the gods, with power all its own. A scarlet blade of pure light, that could destroy anything and even stop any _one_ in its tracks.

The blade hummed to life in his hands, and at the sight of it, Hux visibly flinched.

“How do you still have that?”

Kylo Ren tilted his head at his former friend,

“Did you think I would leave it behind? For you to find and use to slaughter innocents? No. Clearly you found other ways of doing that all on your own.”

He swung the blade around easily, though it was slightly heavier to him as a mortal, and he thrust it right up against Hux’s nose, and his eyes widened in fear.

“You cannot stop this! Nothing can! You barely defeated them while a god, now look at you! Wielding a weapon you have no right to.”

Kylo Ren opened his mouth to argue, but a sudden presence behind him drew Hux’s line of sight, and he stepped around to look without letting him out of his own sight.

“He’s not alone. He’s got me.”

Rey stood there, wearing plain tan robes, holding a dual ended quarterstaff, tipped with a dangerously sharp blade on each end. She looked less like a princess and more like a warrior than he’d ever seen.

“What are you doing?”

His voice dripped with incredulity and shock, and a touch of pride.

What had she been keeping from him?

* * *

“I’m a future queen, you think I do not know how to defend myself?”

She grinned suddenly, with a bite to it, like a snarling cat, and took a fighting stance, aimed at Hux.

For his part, the redhead looked almost amused.

“This is the mortal you’ve been consorting with? I must say, I’m impressed. She’s far from the damsel in distress I’d been imagining.”

Kylo Ren growled in annoyance and pressed closer with the blade of red light, forcing Hux to quiet.

“She is nothing like you could imagine, because words have not been invented, stories not written, and portraits could not capture her essence.”

Rey was probably rolling her eyes at his words, but he didn’t care. All he cared about now was stopping Hux, and if that meant killing him, he’d do that unfortunate duty.

“Pretty as she may be, she’s as foolish as you. Olympus is falling, and distracting me, delaying me, has done nothing to slow it.”

Hux turned away, but not before sliding a knife of bright silver from his thigh, and shoving away Kylo’s blade, forcing him to step backwards to avoid the swing of it.

“This is not over! My father’s armies will stop them.”

Kylo pressed.

Rey moved to stand beside him, gripping his arm tightly,

“But can they hold off that much evil?”

Kylo wasn’t so sure suddenly.

The solution was obvious, and fully present, but he didn’t like how it ended.

Hux turned back to him, a mad sort of delight twisting his face, and then he was throwing the knife, not at Kylo, but at Rey, who could not have blocked it without hitting Kylo in the side.

She did try.

But the silver blade was embedded in her stomach, and her blood was already staining the tan of her robes a deep crimson.

Kylo barely felt the scratch from her staff on his leg, and he dropped to his knees, catching her in his arms before she hit the ground.

“Oh my gods, Rey, no!”

Her hands were shaky, as one touched her injury and came away wet with her own blood, and the other reached for his face, caressing his cheek with infinite gentleness.

“Do it. Stop him.”

Her lip quivered, and her eyes watched him until her last breath left her.

Kylo swallowed his tears, and carefully set her down on the earth, which beneath his hands had never felt softer.

“You… monster!”

He spun on Hux, feeling a rage inside him that he’d never known, not even when faced with his own banishment and ruin.

He roared a curse and ran at his former friend, who barely jumped away in time.

Hux knew as well as Kylo that his blade could wound a god, and even kill them. But Kylo did not want to just wound Hux anymore.

Clearly he was beyond reason.

An colossal explosion sounded in the distance, and they both stopped to look at Olympus, from which smoke was actually emanating.

“The gates are down.” Hux sneered, and Kylo was utterly finished, done with the conversation.

“It doesn’t matter. Your rule has ended.”

For a split second, Hux might have argued, but then he felt the white hot burning pain as Kylo drove his sword through his chest, searing the spot where his heart had beaten for centuries.

Kylo did not catch him as he fell, he merely watched with sadness as the horrible light left Hux’s eyes.

There was no time to waste, he needed to get to the Underworld and get his uncle Luke’s help. Without a hesitation, and trying to ignore the fact that he was touching a dead body, he carefully pulled the dagger from Rey’s chest, and drove it into his own.

Leaving the mortal coil was painful, but necessary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now i've mixed star wars and Hercules semi-successfully. What to do with my life next?


	11. Chapter 11

He awoke with a gasp, surrounded by darkness on all sides, and he felt only the presence of another god, he could not yet see.

“Kylo Ren. Why have you come? Did you not see the annihilation of your father’s home?”

“Luke! I could not stop as I was. I need your help. I need you to persuade my mother to return my powers. Only she can do that.”

His eyes began to adjust to the light, and he saw a tall robed man come into view, with a scraggly beard and a face etched in sadness.

“Sky Walker’s were once the only beings in the galaxy, before seeding the earth. You know that your mother is not the only one with such power, or you would not have come here.”

Kylo nodded.

“I know. But I did not know how to ask you for such a favor when there is yet another I need.”

Luke sighed heavily,

“I would do anything for my family, you know this.”

Kylo felt a mad urge to laugh crawling up his throat,

“The Titans…why did you let Hux free them?”

Suddenly anger flared across his uncle’s face, and he felt a little touch of fear,

“I did no such thing. He freed them when my back was turned, when Mara left me. That day, I was not myself, I was not alert…it may be my fault, but my hand did not directly loosen their chains.”

Kylo’s head sunk down,

“I apologize Uncle. I know you did not mean to. I know you trusted him. We all did. Our trust was misplaced.”

Luke straightened up, and reached out a hand to Kylo, who took it, stunned.

“You know what must be done. Your power, is yours again.”

Through the contact, a fire seemed to spread and flicker and flare throughout Kylo’s body, and the pain in his chest was no longer throbbing, it felt as if it was healed.

His sword felt like an extension of his arm, not a heavy column of unwieldy metal.

He inhaled deeply, and the scent of sulfur and fire and smoke filled his senses.

“Thank you.”

With a swift bow to his Uncle, he took off running for the black gates, and left the underworld behind.

***

The Titans were like mad dogs, and that was an insult to Cereberus, the mad dog with three heads who guarded the gates of the Underworld. Taming them and returning them to their prison took nearly all of Kylo’s renewed strength but he was not going to stop until he had.

He received a new scar, from a blast of fire directed at his side, which he could not block in time with his blade, but when he sliced the Titan of Ice in two, the rest of them fell in line immediately after.

Olympus was indeed a smoking ruin, but Han and Leia had built a shelter long ago, where they’d stayed with most of the other gods.

Rebuilding the home of the gods would not be difficult, but would certainly be a nuisance to hide.

“A hurricane perhaps.”

Han suggested, as a way to cover the noise of creation.

Kylo Ren was weary from battle and in no position to argue, for when Leia had first caught sight of him, she’d rushed to embrace him, words of forgiveness and regret falling from her lips like rain.

“You have truly earned your way home. I think it is time we reconsider the rules we’ve placed upon ourselves.”

Kylo didn’t bother correcting her, and simply waved her away when she fussed about his side.

“It’ll heal. But first there is something very important I must do.”

Leia stared at him with wide eyes, and he knew at once that she knew too.

“The girl.”

He nodded.

“You love her.”

She didn’t use the past tense, and he was grateful for that.

“Hux murdered her. She was barely twenty. I want her back.”

Leia nodded.

“As well you should. She deserves to live a long life.”

Kylo swallowed, and voiced his request.

“I want her to do exactly that. Here. With me.”

Leia’s mouth opened in a gasp, and Kylo could already hear Han beginning to protest.

“Either she comes back with me, or I will stay with her, down there.”

Leia and Han exchanged a glance.

Kylo Ren knew he was right.

They did love him, and they would rather have him with them than a world apart.

“All right.” Leia finally said.

Kylo pulled her into a fierce hug, and then turned to leave, catching his father smiling at him.

***

Cold. So very cold.

She was shivering so hard she could barely feel anything but the need for warmth. The water was not comforting, or soothing, and she could not float to the top, no matter how hard she kicked.

It was like slowly and eternally drowning, with no end in sight.

But then, then there was a hand in hers, and a sharp pain, a movement, the first she’d made in what felt like years.

She was being tugged to the surface, and breaking it was like rebirth.

It was.

She drew a shaky gasp of air, and it was real dry air. Not more water seeping into her lungs, not more cold chilling her to the bone.

Inhale, exhale, inhale…

Rey opened her eyes and found Kylo Ren looking down at her with such relief in his eyes, perhaps he was even crying.

“You’re okay. You’re safe. You’re with me.”

His hand was stroking her face, and she chased it, chased that warm feeling, the skin to skin contact.

“What happened?” She could barely speak, her vocal cords were still trying to remember how to work.

“You died. But I came down here to find you, to bring you back.”

Oh.

So that was what that sharp pain had been, and the bright light that had swallowed her whole. Death.

“Is he?”

She couldn’t say his name because she could hardly remember it, the moment, the instant before she couldn’t draw breath.

Kylo simply nodded.

When she felt able to stand, he helped her up on her shaky legs, and when she stumbled a step, he stopped, and pulled her up into his arms, carrying her the entire rest of the way.

She stared at him unashamedly, and marveled at how different he looked.

Then she knew.

He was no longer just a mortal like her.

How could he be?

He’d defeated the Titans again, he’d brought order to chaos and then dove into the pool of swirling souls, (for how else had she managed to still exist while dead?) and dragged her back to life.

He was a god.

Once they were out, and the sunshine was breaking through the storm, hot on her face, she wept.

For he would let her go, set her down, and leave, return to his home in the sky and she’d only see him in her dreams. It was pathetic perhaps, and selfish, but the fact remained, she loved him.

“What’s wrong?”

His thumb brushed away one of her tears, and he was watching her, concern draping over his face.

“I don’t want to say goodbye.”

She managed to croak.

Kylo Ren’s face broke into a smile, and he’d never looked more handsome. Well, except every instant she’d known him.

“Rey, you don’t have to. If you want, you can come live with me, in Olympus…forever.”

She looked at him, and then glanced behind him at her home, her castle. Where everyone was still waiting for her to return. Poe, and his not so secret love, Finn. Her parents.

“I want to, I really do.”

“Okay.”

He took both of her hands in his and squeezed, gently, before leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek.

“Call for me when you’re ready.”

She almost cried in relief. He understood.

She couldn’t just run away with him.

He watched her go with a lightness in his heart.

***

It wasn’t very long before she was standing on the beach, watching the sun set for the last time as a mortal. She’d donned her best dress, which was lucky they’d even let her have it, considering the state she’d returned in, stolen servants robe practically changed color from the amount of blood they’d been soaked in. Her father had claimed he nearly had a heart attack. If he didn’t use that excuse for everything she might have taken him seriously.

None of them had noticed the battle going on in the sky, and Rey wasn’t sure how to explain it yet, so she said she’d been sparring and accidentally fallen into a red mud bog.

She wasn’t sure her mother bought it, and the look Poe gave her was enough to convince her to tell him the whole truth.

After all, he’d been honest with her always.

“Are you still planning to return home, with Finn?”

“I’m not sure really. I think so. I don’t suppose I can ask for a favor before you leave with your true love, the god of dreams and darkness?”

Rey laughed, but it was true.

Her parents thought she was going to visit a foreign land to search for another possible Prince, a plan they heartily agreed was needed.

“What can I do for you? Do you want to be immortal too? I’m not sure I can swing that.”

Poe laughed, and shook his head.

“Not at all. I want to be able to meet Finn all over again, and fall in love again, like the first time.”

Rey frowned, uncertain,

“You want to forget him?”

Poe sobered at once,

“No! Never. I want to meet him in another lifetime. Does anyone in your pantheon have the power to grant reincarnation?”

Chills went down Rey’s spine, and she smiled shakily,

“I hope so. I’ll do my best.”

Poe pulled her in for a long hug, and then pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Thank you. Good luck to you. Promise you’ll come visit?”

Rey nodded, feeling tears sting her eyes,

“Even when you’re old and grey and no longer the most handsome prince in all the land.”

His laugh echoed in her ears as she stood on the beach, digging her toes into the sand, and feeling the wavering connection with the earth.

“Ready?”

Kylo’s soft voice pierced through her thoughts, and she put a hand to her chest, startled somewhat.

“I thought you were going to come when I called.”

He smirked,

“I can still do that…but I got impatient. You look gorgeous. Out of this world, in fact.”

Rey smiled, and looked down at herself, the cream silk and green emeralds twinkling in the moonlight.

“I was going to get married in this dress. I think it’s fit for a queen, don’t you?”

Kylo nodded, and stepped closer, reaching out to run a hand over her bared shoulders, until her skin was singing out for him to touch her everywhere.

“I think you could make even the moon herself jealous.”

Rey bit her lip,

“Don’t joke about that. I’ve heard vengeful goddesses are no fun.”

He was so close now she could count the freckles on his face, like the stars constellations they were scattered,

“You’re about to be my goddess, so there’s that.”

“True. How does it work? Do you say some magic words?”

Kylo shook his head,

“No. I just have to touch you, and the power is yours.”

Rey gulped,

“You’ve touched me before, quite a bit.”

Kylo smiled gently,

“Not like that. Not with the intent and permission. I had to ask the big people upstairs for this.”

Rey felt her cheeks heat.

“You asked your parents?”

Kylo shrugged,

“So?”

“Do they know?” She asked in a whisper.

“Of course.”

“How much?”

Kylo leaned in, his lips inches from her, so that she could taste his breath,

“They know I love you.”

His eyes closed a fraction of a second before hers did, and from where their mouths touched, she could feel something different, a strong energy, stronger than the bond between them, spreading through her, until her very cells seemed to be singing.

Golden light was surrounding her, though she couldn’t see it with her eyes closed, but when they opened and she looked down, they were floating off the shore, and the stars above them were dancing.

“Do they know I love you back?”

Rey asked, breaking the kiss, though her hands tightened around him.

Kylo smiled,

“They might have an inkling.”

No more words were needed after that.

Mount Olympus grew a little brighter when Rey first stepped foot inside, and since that day, there had never been another mortal turned immortal, but there were two that constantly were reborn and always found each other.

Rey became the goddess of second chances through reincarnation, and gladly granted it to those worthy.

***

**_END_ **

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the end, and thank you for reading. <3


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